(134340) Pluto
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	26 Apr 2024	15.2	35.001 AU	34.914 AU	20h18m	-22°42'	94.2°	1.6°
Opposition	22 Jul 2024	15.0	35.061 AU	34.046 AU	20h13m	-23°10'	176.7°	0.1°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of Pluto are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2470823
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 39.5200744
            i (Inclination)                 : 17.14481
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 110.31651
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 114.33545
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 48.98768
            Epoch                           : 2023 Sep 13

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 45.64444
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 15.58070
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 248.44            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   20 18 55.1   -22 42 13    34.914   35.001   94.2    1.6   257   15.2 
2024-04-26 02:27 UT   20 18 55.2   -22 42 14    34.912   35.001   94.3    1.6   257   15.2 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   20 18 56.0   -22 42 21    34.897   35.002   95.1    1.6   257   15.2 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   20 18 56.8   -22 42 29    34.881   35.003   96.1    1.6   257   15.2 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   20 18 57.4   -22 42 38    34.865   35.003   97.1    1.6   257   15.2 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   20 18 58.0   -22 42 46    34.849   35.004   98.0    1.6   257   15.2 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   20 18 58.4   -22 42 56    34.833   35.005   99.0    1.6   257   15.2 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   20 18 58.7   -22 43 06    34.817   35.005  100.0    1.6   257   15.2 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   20 18 58.8   -22 43 16    34.801   35.006  100.9    1.6   257   15.2 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   20 18 58.9   -22 43 26    34.785   35.007  101.9    1.6   258   15.2 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   20 18 58.8   -22 43 37    34.769   35.007  102.9    1.6   258   15.2 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   20 18 58.6   -22 43 48    34.753   35.008  103.8    1.6   258   15.2 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   20 18 58.3   -22 44 00    34.737   35.009  104.8    1.6   258   15.2 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   20 18 57.9   -22 44 12    34.721   35.009  105.8    1.6   258   15.2 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   20 18 57.3   -22 44 24    34.706   35.010  106.8    1.6   258   15.2 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   20 18 56.7   -22 44 37    34.690   35.011  107.7    1.6   258   15.2 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   20 18 55.9   -22 44 50    34.675   35.011  108.7    1.6   258   15.2 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   20 18 55.0   -22 45 04    34.659   35.012  109.7    1.6   258   15.2 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   20 18 54.0   -22 45 17    34.644   35.013  110.6    1.5   258   15.2 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   20 18 52.8   -22 45 32    34.629   35.013  111.6    1.5   258   15.2 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   20 18 51.6   -22 45 46    34.614   35.014  112.6    1.5   258   15.2 
2024-05-16 00:00 UT   20 18 50.2   -22 46 01    34.599   35.015  113.5    1.5   258   15.2 
2024-05-17 00:00 UT   20 18 48.8   -22 46 16    34.584   35.015  114.5    1.5   258   15.2 
2024-05-18 00:00 UT   20 18 47.2   -22 46 32    34.569   35.016  115.5    1.5   258   15.2 
2024-05-19 00:00 UT   20 18 45.5   -22 46 47    34.555   35.017  116.4    1.5   258   15.2 
2024-05-20 00:00 UT   20 18 43.7   -22 47 04    34.540   35.017  117.4    1.5   259   15.2 
2024-05-21 00:00 UT   20 18 41.8   -22 47 20    34.526   35.018  118.4    1.5   259   15.2 
2024-05-22 00:00 UT   20 18 39.7   -22 47 37    34.512   35.019  119.3    1.4   259   15.2 
2024-05-23 00:00 UT   20 18 37.6   -22 47 54    34.497   35.020  120.3    1.4   259   15.2 
2024-05-24 00:00 UT   20 18 35.4   -22 48 11    34.484   35.020  121.3    1.4   259   15.2 
2024-05-25 00:00 UT   20 18 33.0   -22 48 29    34.470   35.021  122.2    1.4   259   15.1 
2024-05-26 00:00 UT   20 18 30.6   -22 48 47    34.456   35.022  123.2    1.4   259   15.1 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.